Swivel: Video Speed Dating

Connecting people in an increasingly (dis)connected world. Venture launched in early 2020 during the midst of the Covid lockdown with 100+ active users - shut down about 6-months later. Some lessons learned: 1. Build a worse MVP. We were too convinced the idea would work that we were focused on perfecting the product for too long when we should have been testing a rudimentary solution with potential users - classic first time founders mistake. 2. Avoid starting a business where you can't control the user experience. Three minute 1-on-1 video calls with strangers may not seem like a long time, but if the other person isn't the best conversationalist (to put it nicely) - that speed date could be a lot to endure. Someone could go on 10 amazing dates, but if the 11th one is bad - that person may never use the platform again. Neutral or poor experiences heavily outweighed the good ones. 3. The current format of dating apps we all love-to-hate works well because they're *easy*. Our concept was not. Not only is it stress inducing for many people leading up to events (it takes a high threshold of confidence/courage to sign up), many users feel the need to dress up, dates happen at pre-determined times in the week, requires a degree of privacy which some don't have, and more. This format is much different than the sporadic swiping you'll do when you're bored, commuting, or in bed. + so, so many more...